U.S. patent number 5,372,288 [Application Number 08/176,765] was granted by the patent office on 1994-12-13 for adjustable handgun holster.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Safariland Ltd., Inc.. Invention is credited to Norman E. Clifton, Jr., William H. Rogers.
United States Patent |
5,372,288 |
Rogers , et al. |
December 13, 1994 |
Adjustable handgun holster
Abstract
Handgun holster attached to a vertical support rod parallel to
and spaced apart from the holster. There also is attached to the
rod an arcuate strap as an upper body rest and a pad as a lower
thigh rest, each rest being adjustable and clampable to selected
positions for the convenience of the wearer. Preferably, this
holster is for use in sports competition, where it is important to
be able to draw quickly and fire.
Inventors: |
Rogers; William H.
(Jacksonville, FL), Clifton, Jr.; Norman E. (Jacksonville,
FL) |
Assignee: |
Safariland Ltd., Inc. (Ontario,
CA)
|
Family
ID: |
22645727 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/176,765 |
Filed: |
January 5, 1994 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
224/198; 224/222;
224/243; 224/267; 224/674; 224/677; 224/912 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45F
5/00 (20130101); F41C 33/0245 (20130101); F41C
33/045 (20130101); A45F 5/02 (20130101); A45F
2200/0591 (20130101); Y10S 224/912 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A45F
5/00 (20060101); F41C 33/00 (20060101); F41C
33/02 (20060101); F41C 033/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;224/191-193,195-198,200,222,224-226,242-244,253,267,911,912
;248/283,285 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Jacyna; J. Casimer
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Yeager; Arthur G.
Claims
What is claimed as new and what it is desired to be secured by
Letters Patent of the United States is:
1. A holster for a handgun, said holster having two sidewalls, a
back, an open front, open top and open bottom, said holster being
rotatably and longitudinally slidably attached to an elongated,
substantially vertical support rod, an adjustable, arcuate upper
body rest attached to the upper portion of said rod and a lower
thigh rest pad rotatably and longitudinally slidably attached to
the lower portion of said rod.
2. The holster of claim 1 wherein said upper body rest is an
arcuate strap adapted to rest against the outside of the body of
the wearer of the holder.
3. The holster of claim 2 wherein said strap has an inner surface
partially covered by fabric loop fastener material and an outer
surface partially covered by fabric hook fastener material.
4. The holster of claim 2 wherein said rod includes an arcuate slot
engaged with a screw passing through said slot and said upper body
rest to provide arcuate adjustment of said body rest with respect
to said rod.
5. The holster of claim 1 wherein said holster is slidably attached
to said rod by two spaced clamps each being separately clampable to
said rod.
6. The holster of claim 3 wherein each said clamp comprises an
opposing pair of jaws tightenable about said rod by screw
means.
7. The holster of claim 1 which additionally includes on the inside
of said back a trigger guard catch member adapted to assist in
restraining said handgun in said holster.
8. A handgun holster releasably clamped to a substantially vertical
support rod by two spaced clamps adapted to permit said holster to
be slidably adjustable lengthwise and rotationwise about said rod;
said rod being closely spaced inwardly from, and approximately
coextensive with, said holster; an upper thigh rest including an
arcuate strap adapted to rest against the outside contour of the
body of the holster wearer and being angularly adjustably attached
to the upper end of said rod; and a lower thigh rest pad adjustably
clamped to said rod, spaced below said upper body rest; and being
rotationally and longitudinally positionable with respect to said
rod.
9. The holster of claim 8 having two sidewalls, a back wall, an
open top, an open bottom and an open front.
10. The holster of claim 8 additionally including a trigger guard
restraint mechanism mounted inside the holster and adapted to
restrain forward rotation of a handgun in the holster while
allowing rapid access in a vertical direction.
11. The holster of claim 8 wherein said rod has an upper end with
an arcuate slot therein engaged with a clamping screw passing
through said slot and through said upper body rest.
12. The holster of claim 8 wherein said upper body rest has an
inside concave surface to which is affixed a pad of fabric loop
fastener material and an outside convex surface to which is affixed
a pad fabric hook fastener material.
13. A holster for a handgun, said holster having an inner and an
outer sidewall, a back, an open top, a bottom, and a substantially
open front extending from said top to adjacent said bottom, an
elongated, substantially vertical support rod, means for rotatably
and slidably attaching said inner side wall to said support rod, an
adjustable upper body rest, means for attaching said upper body
rest to an upper portion of said support rod, a lower thigh rest
pad, and means for rotatably and longitudinally slidably attaching
said pad to a lower portion of said rod.
14. The holster of claim 13 wherein said upper body rest is an
arcuate strap adapted to conform to and rest against the outside of
a body of a wearer of tile holster.
15. The holster of claim 13 wherein said means for rotatably and
slidably attaching includes a pair of spaced clamps each being
separately clampable to said rod.
16. The holster of claim 15 wherein each said clamp comprises an
opposing pair of jaws tightenable about said rod by screw
means.
17. The holster of claim 13 further including a catch member
inwardly directed adjacent said back for assisting in restraining
said handgun in said holster from forward movement.
18. The holster of claim 13 wherein said rod includes an enlarged
upper plate, said upper plate having an arcuate slot extending
generally laterally of a longitudinal axis of said rod, a bolt
passing through said slot and said upper body rest to provide
arcuate adjustment of said body rest with respect to said rod.
19. The holster of claim 13 wherein said upper body rest includes
an inside concave surface, a pad of fabric loop releasable fastener
material affixed to said inside concave surface, said body rest
including an outside convex surface, a pad fabric hook releasable
fastener material being affixed to said outside convex surface.
20. The holster of claim 13 wherein said bottom is open, further
including means to restrain forward rocking of a handgun in the
holster while allowing rapid access in a substantially vertical
direction.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an adjustable holster for a handgun,
revolver or pistol.
There have been known in the past holsters that are adjustable have
been known in the past holsters that are adjustable to various
selected angles and positions on the upper leg of wearer for quick
draw purposes. Typical of such is that described in U.S. Pat. No.
5,167,355 to Hill involving a ratchet means to rotate tile holster
to any angle about a fender which attached to a waist belt. This
patented holster, however, does not permit other adjustments, e.g.,
vertical and rotational, which may well be necessary to reach the
most desirable position for the holster for any unique
individual.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a holster
that is adjustable in several directions. It is another object to
provide a holster that is adjustable lengthwise of and rotationwise
about, a vertical support rod. Still other objects will become
apparent from the more detailed description of the invention which
follows.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a holster assembly for a handgun where
the holster has two sidewalls, a back wall, an open front, an open
top and an open bottom. This holster is longitudinally and
rotatably attached to an elongated substantially vertical support
rod closely spaced inwardly from the holster. An arcuate strap
serving as an upper body rest is adjustably attached to the upper
end of the vertical rod, and a lower thigh rest is adjustably
attached to a lower portion of the vertical rod.
In specific and preferred embodiments of the invention the upper
body rest is an arcuate strap which rests against the body contours
of the wearer, perhaps at the waist, the hip, or the upper thigh,
and is tiltable through a limited angle. The lower thigh rest is a
pad which can be adjusted longitudinally along the rod and can be
adjusted rotationally around the rod.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention
are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The
invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method
of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof,
may best be understood by reference to the following description
taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the holster of this
invention;
FIG. 2 is an outside elevational view of the holster of this
invention;
FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the holster of this
invention;
FIG. 4 is an outside elevational view of the assembly of the rod
support, the upper body rest, and the lower thigh rest;
FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the assembly of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the assembly of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the assembly of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The advantages and operational features of this invention are best
appreciated by reading the following description referring to the
attached drawings.
The holster assembly of this invention includes as principal
Components the handgun holster 25, the vertical rod support 10, the
upper body rest 11, and the lower thigh rest 12. These components
are adjustably fastened together so as to permit the precise
positioning of the handgun grip where the wearer wants it for quick
draw.
The holster 25 may be any of many styles none of which being
critical to the operation of this invention. The holster 25 shown
in these drawings is particularly adapted to competitive sports
including activities involving quick draw and firing of a handgun.
Holster 25 has an inside (adjacent the wearer's body) sidewall 26,
an outside (spaced away from the wearer's body) sidewall 27, a back
wall 37, an open top 28, an open front 29, an open bottom 30, and a
muzzle strap 31. There also is included a trigger guard restraint
mechanism 34 which adds retention to the weapon from rocking
forward in the holster while providing an adjustable tension draw
to the top of the holster and which preferably is included with the
holster style shown in the drawings, but may be omitted with other
styles of holsters. The details of the preferred trigger guard
restraint are described and claimed in our U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,036
which issued Mar. 31, 1992. Outside screw 35 and rear screw 36 hold
trigger guard restraint 34 in place in the interior cavity near
open top 28 of holster 25.
Support rod 10 serves as a rigid spine to which all other
components are attached in an adjustable manner. Rod 10 is a
cylindrical rigid rod about the same length as holster 25 from top
28 to bottom 30. Rod 10 is spaced inwardly, i.e., toward the
wearer's body, from holster sidewall 26 and positioned generally
parallel to inside wall 26, and generally vertical in the same
sense that holster 25 hangs vertically on the wearer's body. At the
upper end of rod 10 there is a generally triangular flat head 15 to
which upper body rest is attached. Holster 25 is attached to rod 10
by way of two spaced clamps 32 and 33. Lower thigh rest 12 is also
attached to rod 10 by way of clamp 19, normally positioned between
holster clamps 32 and 33. Clamps 19, 32 and 33 are generally
similar in that they comprise two opposing jaws that wrap around
rod 10 and are tightened together by a screw 20. When screw 20 is
loosened it permits the component to which it is attached, e.g.,
holster 25 or thigh rest pad 12, to be moved slidably lengthwise of
rod 10 or rotationally around rod 10. Thus, holster 25 and thigh
rest pad 12 can be positioned to suit the wearer, and can be
tightened in the desired position. Lower thigh rest pad 12 is
merely a box like pad of suitable thickness to rest against the
thigh of the wearer while preventing contact by other items, such
as clamps 19, 32 33, screws 20, rod 10, etc. Rest 12 may be hard,
soft, contoured, flat, or have any other desired characteristic. In
the preferred embodiment as shown, rest 12 is a smooth hard,
flat-surfaced pad.
At the upper end of rod 10 is head 15 to which upper body rest 11
is attached. Rest 11 is made with an interior concave surface 38
and an exterior convex surface 39 such that it resembles a curved
or arcuate strap, the shape of the concave surface 38 being such
that it fits the general contours of the body of the wearer where
it rests. This may be at the waist, at the hip, or on the upper
thigh of the wearer. A central portion of body rest 11 is formed
into outer flap 40 which is folded downwardly and fastened with
spacer 42, screw 23, and nut 18 to head 15. This arrangement leaves
a tunnel space 41 to serve as a belt loop to receive a belt from
which the holster is suspended. Head 15 is fashioned with an
arcuate slot 17 through which screw 23 passes and this permits
tilting of rest 11 with respect to rod 10 through angle 43, which
may be about 300.degree.-60.degree., preferably about 45.degree..
Once the proper tilt has been reached body rest 11 can be fixed in
place by tightening screw 23 against nut 18. Rest 11 pivots or
tilts about screw 16 which is attached to head 15 and to flap 40,
but does not extend through the concave-convex strap portion of
rest 11.
As an added feature, which is not a critical portion of the
invention, the strap portion of body rest 11 may be covered with
pads of Velcro fastener in order to be more secure. It is a common
practice for competition shooter's uniforms to include an underbelt
and/or an overbelt of Velcro fastener material to be worn with
handgun holsters. For this reason the drawings show pads of fabric
loops 13 on concave surface 38 of body rest 11 and pads of fabric
hooks 14 on convex surface 39 of body rest 11. These pads 13 and 14
can be fastened to an underbelt worn between body rest 11 and the
body of the wearer, or they may be fastened to an overbelt threaded
through loop 41 and worn around the body of the wearer. It is, of
course, entirely optional to include or not to include pads 13 and
14 on body rest 11; since the holster assembly of this invention is
entirely operational without pads 13 and 14.
It may be seen that the holster assembly of this invention permits
the gun grip to be raised, lowered, or moved circumferentially
about the thigh of the wearer. The adjustment of the positions of
body rest. 11 and thigh rest 12 permit the handgun and holster to
be positioned at different angles with respect to the thigh where
the holster hangs.
While the invention has been described with respect to certain
specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that many
modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art
without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended,
therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications
and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the
invention.
* * * * *